Try
by Keito Stone
Summary: Pitch gets cranky with the approaching Full moon. Jack, unfortunately doesn't understand that. Sometimes, talking to someone can save the life of another. BlackIce PitchXJack Rating subject to change
1. Thin Ice

_Okay, now don't ask, but this just hit me one day._

_This is a BlackFrost / BlackIce Fic, so if you don't like it, GET OUT!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the vague description of the little girl._

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_**Chapter 1**_

Growling, the white haired teen tried to keep his anger in check. This was the third time this WEEK that they had argued. And that was within only TWO DAYS! The week before it had been FIVE times, and that alone had gotten of the winter spirit's nerves.

Before, it had been just simple little things that would make Pitch's non-existent eyebrow twitch, but he would never say anything unless what Jack had done had put one of his rare and precious objects or books in danger. Pitch had several millennia to collect things, but there were two things that he treasured on the same level that he treasured Jack: his library that had books back from when he was Kozmotis Pitchiner and his instruments.

A case and point had been when Jack had childishly thrown a snowball at Pitch while the Nightmare King had been tuning his piano. The snowball had missed and hit the bench instead. Pitch had been furious and made Jack clean up all of the snow and dust everything in all of the rooms in that wing while he tried to save the defenceless wooden piano bench.

It wasn't really an unfair punishment, in all honesty. The only thing that Pitch had asked of Jack was that he never unleashed snow within his home. Jack had complained at first, but a hard look from Pitch and a very lonesome night out on the couch fixed that. It was a mutual agreement that Jack would keep his frost and snow far away from Pitch's instruments and books if Pitch would teach him how to read and join in on his snow day fun.

It took a lot of begging and pleading for Pitch to agree to that, but Jack had learned on thing very well. Pitch was a sucker for large eyes and pouty lips. Jack was glad that he had managed to convince Pitch to join in, he had never seen the elder spirit having so much fun before.

But recently, their arguments had begun to escalate in number. And it was over the weirdest of things too.

Looking up at the Nightmare King, Jack tried to piece together why he had said that. Why had he said that he was the embodiment of fun? That Pitch had no control over him; he was the wind, wild and free to do as he pleased. That the Man in the Moon had created him to be free, have the choice of what he wanted, no one else.

Pitch's face was slowly contorting, losing its normal expression, becoming dark and angry.

"_You_ were _**created** _for _me_! You are _my_ **_shadow_ _bride_**!_ That is what the Man in the Moon created you for_!" Snarling, Pitch loomed over Jack, his shadows curling around the young frost sprite. He was beyond pissed. How dare this little _boy_ dare to assume that he understood him, the king of nightmares and darkness.  
Looking up at Pitch, Jack felt as though he had been slapped across the face.

Those words that Pitch had shrieked at him cut deeply, stabbing at the guardian of fun's core.

It hurt, what Pitch said.

Had MiM really created him for that?

Created him for the sole reason of becoming Pitch's spouse?

_Was that really his only purpose?_

His worry and fright of Pitch changed though; becoming darker, colder. How dare Pitch say that to him. How dare he say that to him when he was the only one to see past everything.

"How dare you!" Yelling in anger, Jack swung a fist at the boogeyman, his eyes colder than the Arctic air he travelled on. Pitch was quick to raise a wall of his nightmare sand to defend himself. Growling in response, Pitch rounded on the winter spirit and let loose a barrage of nightmare sand.

The attacks bounced off each other and turned toward the next source of lively energy, a young child out on the frozen lake that Jack had been trying to refreeze over so that there was no thin ice. She was humming a tune to herself, her eyes closed as she skated around the lake. If one looked close enough, they could see a set of ear-buds nestled comfortably in her ears. She was oblivious to the two lovers and their quarrel though she had seen them quite clearly when she had walked past both of them on her way to the lake, her skates slung over her shoulders.

The first to hit her was a small amount of snow, in a haphazard snowball shape that had her stumbling as it hit one of her balance points. Opening her eyes sharply, she ripped out her ear-buds, whipping around the yell at the person that had thrown the snow ball at her.

The first flickers of the nightmare sand caught her next. Screaming in terror as she was pushed farther out onto the lake, she tried to keep her balance and fight off the assault of snow and black sand. She wasn't afraid of the sand and snow itself, she wasn't ignorant to Jamie's Guardian friends or the Nightmare King's speciality.

What scared her was the fact that she was being pushed toward the thinner ice.

Both the Nightmare King and the Frost sprite look away from their argument, their eyes wide as they watched the ice crack under the child's weight. Pitch almost choked on the shear terror rolling off the girl; fright was all right, it was both sweet and bitter, like the Dark chocolates that Jack liked. But terror had a much stronger affect, much like the burn Pitch got from drinking some of North's alcohol.

Both of the spirits lunged forward, their powers trying to stop the inevitable Black sand mixed with the white snow, surging forward in a combined effort to save their believer.

_**CREEEEAAAACK!**_

Red hair flew up, the loose strands weightless against the rush of falling. Her dark green eyes were wide in terror, one last scream ripping from her throat as she plunged into the freezing water. Any air that had been left in her lungs rushed away as the water seeped through her clothes. The saying that cold water took your breath away was very true; something that she had never known until now.

Black sand and pure white frost followed her into the water, both trying to pull her out before she drowned. It would be truly unfair for her to drown because of their problems.

Because they had chosen this place to fight.

An effort that quickly became evident was a lost cause. The girl's once vivid green eyes were dull and lifeless in moments. Small bubbles rose to the surface minutes apart and then not at all; the ice water rushing into her small lungs. Her limbs were quickly frozen and useless, even if she could have put up a fight.

Screaming in frustration, Jack clawed at the surface of the lake, plunging his arms into the freezing water and only succeeding in freezing the surface - and his arms in place.

Pitch was having limited success as well. His sand was getting water logged quickly, and Jack's attempts to physically drag the girl out was making things harder. He was a sprite of frost, snow, and winter. Water quickly froze, making their attempts useless.

Ripping his arms out of the ice, Jack howled in frustration and anger. He swore that he would protect children like this girl and he had helped to drown her!


	2. Shadows

_**Chapter 2**_

Night had descended quickly on the small mountain town. Looking up at the waxing moon, Jack felt tears welling up in his eyes.  
He had failed in his duty. He was supposed to protect them, bring them fun. Instead, he had kill one, a child who had been enjoying one of his snow days because he had missed a sheet of thin ice.

Looking down into the frozen lake, Jack hugged his knees tight. He could see her, her face almost angelic in the moon light. He could see his snow flakes and Pitch's nightmare sand curling around her, desperately trying to save her. They were curled around her, beautiful, frozen and dark.

It was like they were dancing.

Placing his hand over the ice, Jack sighed. He really wished that Pitch had stayed. At least then, he would have someone to talk to, to hold him. He wanted to have someone to share his grief to tell him that it was just his over active imagination or that a stray nightmare had gotten to him.

But he knew it wasn't. When Pitch would say that, he would always know that it was a lie. He never would imagine something like that. Nightmares would never do that, show a child, one of their believers dying. They needed those who feared them almost as much as Pitch needed them.

"I'm so sorry..." Looking up at MiM, Jack cried. He was a failure, and MiM could see it. Cradling his head against his knees, Jack hide his face from the world, trying to hide his shame.

MiM looked down upon his frost sprite sadly.

Off in the distance, something glinted in the moonlight. The shadow figure ignored the moon's frowning gaze upon its back, hissing at it even when the moon flashed angrily at him. His jacket was the darkest of blacks, speckled with fresh dirt. His hands were filthy with the same dirt, his golden prize clenched tightly within his right hand. and black stained crook rested comfortably on his left shoulder.

Stepping out onto the lake, the dark visitor ignored the mourning frost sprite, intent on getting his job done. He wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible so that he could go back to reigning down fear onto children.

Stopping over the frozen child, the visitor pushed Jack out of his was easily, sending the fun guardian sliding across his own creation. Falling on his butt, Jack looked sharply up at the unwanted guest to his lake.

He sharply inhaled when he got a good look at the stranger.

His shadow enshrouded visitor looked very much like himself, all the way down to the same type of clothes. Gold eyes pierced out from behind pale lids, thick black eyelashes making them pop out all the more. His hair was quiet strange, starting off snow white at the top of his head and ending with pitch black curls around his neck. That was, the hair Jack could see with the man's hood drawn up to hide his face. Bare feet, black pants, a black hoodie, and a stained black Shepard's crook completed the visitor's ensemble.

Glancing at his almost carbon copy, the shadow brought his staff down sharply against the ice, shattering open the lake's surface. Pulling his prize close to his chest, the shadow whispered to the trinket, Jack barely even hearing it.

"Nightmares and fear have been boring without you... Seraphina." Holding his hand over the hole he created, the shadow dropped his golden prize into the freezing waters, stepping back as he watched the locket sink.

Jack too watched, his curiosity peaked. Who was Seraphina and why was this sprite saying that nightmares and fear were boring without her? Nightmares and fear were Pitch's domain and no one else's.

The nightmare sand reacted to the new presence and freedom faster than the frost did. The sand circled around the chain and locket, pulling it into itself and wrapping it around the small child's neck, the sand itself slithering off the gold and snaking its way over the corpse, sinking into the dead skin. The frost followed after the nightmares, following a mirrored pattern of the sand and sinking into the child's corpse as well.

Vibrant red hair darkened and paled at the same time, taking on characteristics much like the shadow standing nearby. Her skin greyed slightly, but retained a slight pink tone. Frost and sand burst like a firework around her as the changes completed themselves, the shadow smirking at Jack as he turned away from the sleeping child-sprite.

"Her name is..."


	3. Child of Frost and Fear

_HI~! I just wanted to say thank you guys that have Followed / Faved / Reviewed this story!_

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_**Chapter 3**_

"Ebony!" Blinking blearily, the young sprite rubbed her speckled eyes, looking around for the owner of the voice. She only had one person who had ever seen her. Smiling at the snow white hair bobbing toward her perch, Ebony smile morphed into a smirk as she made a small snow ball. This time, she would get the first hit. Carefully adjusting her position, the sprite of black ice waited for her prey to come within throwing distance.

Looking around, Jack frowned when he failed to see his charge and adopted child. He knew that he shouldn't, but he couldn't help but worry. She wasn't exactly one of MiM's creations, so he wasn't too pleased that she was walking on earth. This caused Jack to worry about the fact that MiM may have sent someone to eliminate the little sprite.

But he certainly hoped that Pitch hadn't found her most of all.

Looking up when he heard something shift above him, Jack yelped in surprise as a snowball smacked him across the face. A girlish war shriek of victory sounded over him, a small smile working over Jack's face. She had finally gotten the better of him at his own game.

Laughing, the winter sprite jumped up and threw an unpacked handful of snow at Ebony, earning a yelp of surprise and another snowball to the chest. To a non-believer passing by, all they would see was some snow falling from the branches of the tree and maybe hear some far off laughter. The believers would see Jack Frost laughing and having a snowball fight with a small child dressed in black.

Ebony was very different from the others sprites. Her hair went from white at the top of her head to black at the base of her neck, each shade in its own small layer. Her icy blue eyes were flaked with gold during the day, and were gold speckled with blue by night. She wore a cloak similar to Pitch, but it was more open and flowing, which allowed more freedom when she and Jack went full out on snow days. Her dark umber pants were tied around her calves, much like Jack's were. A small, off the shoulder shirt that cut off just under her forming breasts was the only thing Ebony wore under the low cut cloak, the cut ending just below her belly button. The opening for her to have free movement of her legs opened up above the waist of her pants. Her staff looked very much like his own, but he knew that her other weapon - a scythe that had an eerie similarity to Pitch's - lived within the shadows, ready to be used. Often, she would combine them, pulling the snow and nightmares together.

Now, he knew what Pitch meant by nothing went better together than cold and dark.

A small, black wolf pup yipped up at the two sprites, gaining their attention. Ebony smiled and laughed, kneeling down to pet the small thing. Jack chuckled at the little thing, knowing that it was trying to play cute to keep its master's attention.

Jack had the unfortunate memory of when the pup was created. Well... It wasn't a really wolf pup, it was a Fearling in the shape of a wolf pup. The actual size of the thing was amazing. On the few occasions that the Fearling would return to its actual size, the wolf was large enough for the two of them to ride. It's fur was surprisingly soft to the touch.

The night that Shadow - as Ebony had dubbed the Fearling, a name that had Jack howling in laughter, remembering some of the many names that Pitch had. He had even imagined what Pitch would look like a wolf - was created was the first time that Jack had seen his child use her power over the darkness. He guessed that she had seen his own pet and thought it was lonely, creating a pup for it to care for.

His own Fearling was a female wolf named Darci. Pitch had insisted that he pick out his favorite animal Fearling from the hundreds and keep it with him at all times. Over time, Jack had grown fond of Darci and had kept her with him long after Pitch and he had gone their separate ways. Darci came up to her master and rubbed her head against his hand, closing her eyes in content as Jack scratched behind her ear.

"Darci!" Smiling at the larger wolf, Ebony let the Fearling sniff her and nod its at her head before she petted it, Shadow coming up next to Darci and rubbing against its "mother", letting out soft little yips. Smiling at the innocent scene before him, Jack looked up at the color stained sky, noticing the setting sun. He had forgotten that the days were much shorter in the part of Russia that they were in.

"Ebony, its time to go back." Looking up, Ebony sighed as she saw the pinks and red, the pink fading to blood red. Her blue eyes were consumed by the gold, her eyesight changing to keep up with the changing of the day to night. Standing up, Ebony went over to Jack's open arms, hugging his waist.

"Can't we stay out and watch the meteor shower mom? We'll see it better out here than back in the city." Shaking his head negatively, Jack ran his hands through her hair, brushing out some of the snow that hadn't fallen out.

"I'm sorry little one, but we must. Don't want the bogeyman to find us right?" Holding his little girl close when she whimpered in fright, Jack held back the sigh that wanted to escape him. He really didn't want to have to keep telling the lie that Pitch was a cruel man, but he did what he must to protect his child.

Pitch only tried to establish necessary fear into children now, only giving truly frightening nightmares to those that deserved them. He had been very busy the last time Jack had left Ebony with Sandy so that he could check on the Nightmare King. War had broken out between many countries, and Pitch had been busy bringing terrifying nightmares to those who had caused it and to those who kept it alive, killing children in the process.

While it didn't seem like it at first, Pitch really did have a soft spot for children. The Nightmare King had even admitted to Jack that he had been a father when he was Kozmotis Pitchiner. And those that hurt, orphaned, or murdered children in cold blood were give the worst nightmares that Pitch reserved just for them. He may not have many children believers, but he had certainly grown in strength because of those he tormented with their sins.

"Don't let him get us Mama!" Shushing the little sprite, Jack carefully knelt down and picked her up, letting her bury her face into the crook of his neck. He needed to keep her fear down at a minimum, or else Pitch would find them by her fear. Sprites' fear, unlike children's, had a much shriller sound and taste to Pitch; it was almost like a drug that he could never get enough of was what he had admitted once when Jack had found Pitch practically drooling over him after a particularly bad memory. Shushing her, Jack carefully held both if their staffs under her bottom to support her as he began to walk back to the empty apartment that they had been staying in for the past couple of days.

Every few days they would move to a new place on the globe, never staying longer than two weeks at the most. Sometimes they left after only one day. Those were few and far between, but Jack often had to shove Ebony into a nearby structure and deal with the Guardians as quickly as he could. The only one who knew about Ebony was Sandman, and that was only because Jack trusted the mute Dreamweaver more than the others. He wanted to tell the others, but he never knew if they would turn on him or not, regardless of Sandy's reassurances.

He was afraid that they would tell MiM about her.

He was afraid that MiM would take her away.

He was afraid that MiM would tell the others to take away his little "freak of nature" as he called when he was teasing her.

"Mama? Why are you afraid?" Looking down at the innocent question, Jack tried to calm himself when he looked straight into gold eyes. Ebony's eyes looked so much like Pitch's, even during the day. Nuzzling her cheek, Jack blew a raspberry against her face, making Ebony erupt into giggles.

"Nothing, my little sprite." Shifting her up to get a better grip, Jack smiled and let the wind pick them both up, Darci and Shadow melting away into the growing darkness, leaving to look for something to eat. Glancing over his shoulder, Jack gazed sorrowfully back at the setting sun.

Once upon a time, he had waited eagerly for the sun to leave, taking the children with it just so he could see the Nightmare King.


End file.
